A FAMILY has been left devastated after a blaze ripped through their 16th century thatched cottage.

Fourteen fire crews battled the inferno at Thrift Cottages, in Noakes Farm Lane, Boxted.

Flames billowed from the roof and the area was shrouded in smoke.

Jeremy Stanton, 46, a surgeon at Colchester General Hospital, was at home with wife Debs and their children when the fire started. Mr Stanton, who has lived in the cottage for nine years, called the fire service before trying to battle the fire.

He said: “It was caused by the wood burning stove.

“Someone noticed the smoke and alerted us, so we we got the kids out, called the fire brigade and then got up the ladder and put a hose on it. I thought we had it under control, but then it spread across and the whole thatch went up.

“The roof has gone and the first floor is a complete right-off.

“The ground floor isn’t as bad as it could be, but there is a lot of smoke and water damage and the whole place is a complete mess – we’re devastated.”

The fire, which broke out on Sunday at about 7pm, spread to the roof of neighbour Chris Board’s cottage.

Mr Board, 34, a planning consultant who has lived in the cottage for six years, said: “We have been very lucky, although we have got a lot of water damage.

“We were just putting the children to bed when it happened.

“The hero was Ed, who lives in the farmhouse nearby. He raised the alarm and jumped straight up on the roof with the hose.

“The fire brigade were also fantastic and stopped the fire spreading.

“We haven’t lost any belongings, so we are extremely grateful to them.”

A spokesman for Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said crews from Colchester, Manningtree, Nayland, Clacton, Weeley, Hadleigh, Coggeshall and Brentwood, Chelmsford, Frinton and Halstead were called to the scene.

A Pinzgauer off-road vehicle, four hose reels and three high pressure hose jets were used to tackle the blaze.

Danny Fearn, divisional officer, said initially crews created a fire break to stop the fire from spreading to the cottage next door.

The fire was extinguished by 1.55am on Monday and crews remained at the scene in the morning to damp down and check for remaining hot spots.